Whats up guys new to the forum and new to the ls1 family. Been a member for about a month now. I went from knowing nothing about these engines to just about know enough to have a decent conv about this motor lol. Anyways here's the story.. I have a 69 chevelle and plan on dropping a ls1 into it. Bought a ls1 with 339 heads (97 vette heads) and a alt bracket, intake, fuel rail, injectors,and a 4L60E for $2200...(got ripped off)... The problem is when I bought it, the intake was off and the heads had duct tape over the intake ports. the dude said the motor was always in his garage for 2yrs, he bought it for his mote carlo but his plans didn't go thru. I ripped the tape and it looked fine... I Jumped the gun thinking the motor was good and bought it. One week later I was curious and had a bad feeling about the motor so I decided to take off the heads. Come to find out all 4 left pistons had water in them for a while. Rusted the walls perrty good. The block had work done previous from my guess he threw push rod thru the block and someone welded on it. Took the motor to a machine shop the machinist said it can't be saved. I bought a new block off craigslist for $200.

So now heres where my questions come in and need some input. The new block needs to be decked (milled down), also bore over and the only thing being saved is my crank and rods, and cam. The crank needs to be polished tho. getting new pistons, cam bearings, molly rings, timing gear, oil pump, a few more parts I'm forgetting Ill have better list monday. parts is about $896 labor is ilke $980 does that sound fair?

Can a LS1 block be decked or milled?
Im concerned about ptv clearance because I want to cam for something mild like 224 later I want to turbo tho so I'm thinking of just trowing in the high compression pistons now.
I'm posting some pics tomarrow.
Thanks!

 

You want low compression pistons for a turbo.

The ls1 block can only take .005 to .007 hone so make sure the machine shop knows this before they go ape **** on it and ruin it as well.

Honestly, since you need new pistons anyways, I would off the ls1 block and pick up a 6.0 block.

The crank, rods and heads will work on The 6.0 block fine and you will have more cubes.

 

Also make sure the machine shop has a torque plate. Many do not and if they don't go to another machine shop.

 

ok ill tell him that.
Are you talking about a Ls2 block?? I tried finding a block over the weekend and haven't had any luck.


I remember him saying he just bought one because he's starting to get a few lsx in. I will ask him tomarrow tho. I'm uploading pics to my computer right now so I can show you guys what I'm working with.


Also can someone help me out on what are good pistons / and ratios to run a nice built N/A for about a year then go with a mild turbo next year?

right now I'm trying to find a good deal on ARP head studs & Rod bolts.

 

Either ls2 or iron Lq block. Either will work. The ls2 is just aluminum, more expensive and less plentiful. I would pick your pistons with a dish, and run some milled heads to get about 10 to 1 for n/a, then use a good head with a larger chamber when the turbo goes on to get it down to about 8.5 to 1. Wiseco makes excellent boost pistons that will hold up and not break the bank in the process.

I suggest calling Jon@hke for the pistons. He worked with me on my wiseco pistons and is an excellent guy to work with. He will be able to steer you in the right direction with dish size, rod length and type of rod for what you are wanting to do.

 

Thanks for the help!. I will contact him I'm gonna just do a built NA no more turbo. What are good ratios for NA. Goal is to hit 475-490hp all motor